


Protection and Power

by Skylarium_Rose



Series: Chronicles of Royalty [3]
Category: Godzilla (2014), Godzilla: King of The Monsters (2019), Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Genre: G-Team always be chill no matter what, Kaiju Fights, Monarch scientists are confused and intrigued again, Mothra's a tough little worm, Other, Titan & Human Interactions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-05-20 21:22:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19384906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylarium_Rose/pseuds/Skylarium_Rose
Summary: In 1973, the Monarch expedition Huston Brooks was part of went to an unknown island found by Landsat in the South Pacific. It was supposed to be a quick, educational, and mostly painless trip. But they had severely underestimated the island’s ecosystem.48 years later and he still has mixed feelings about the island, and yet, somehow it never fails to exceed his expectations.





	Protection and Power

**Author's Note:**

> So there’s no confusion, I briefly mention events from the Kong comic and Aftershock Godzilla comic without spoiling the meat of the stories, so you don’t have to read them to read this. But the artwork and story is amazing, if you haven’t read them you should.
> 
> Also here's an awesome [map](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/godzilla/images/6/6c/SkullIslandMonsterVerse.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170226043135) of Skull Island just because ┐(⁀ᗢ⁀)┌

Dr. Huston Brooks has a long and storied resume of work, papers, and expeditions all towards the public relations and the scientific progress of Monarch. But there was one thing that was listed on his main file that not many people would know of.

Corcoranophobia.

In his medical file he had a note from a psychiatrist listing this phobia; A fear of helicopters.

Monarch's main mode of transportation.

It wasn’t an ideal fear to have in his line of work and after the tremulous flight in and off Skull Island and the crash from the insane first encounter with Kong, Huston could justify this fear. For a decade he chose to internalize it until it started giving him ulcers and Lin had begged him to get help. Now armed with anxiety medicine the trips to bases weren't too bad. Honestly it really was a shame he couldn't get away from this kind of work, only being retired for about three years before he was coming back as a consultant and quickly becoming a project manager of Titan containment. Some of the higher-ups were kind enough – because of his contributions – to make sure there were roads for him to travel on so flying wasn't much of an issue.

But sometimes he liked to still dabble in research and that was the reasoning behind his trip back to _the island_.

It took him almost thirty years to come back and that was only to help retrieve his son Aaron from there after an unsanctioned mission seventeen years earlier, which was a terrifying four day search, but they found him unscathed, but not unscarred, at the Iwi settlement.

It wasn't until Godzilla made his scaly debut that Monarch went into overdrive about understanding everything they could about the Titans and Mega-fauna hidden in myths and legends across the globe. Within a year plans were drawn up for a base to be built in the smaller mountain chain on the north side of Skull Island. It was to be constructed into the rock face and heavily fortified outside like an Iwi structure with six different escape routes if needed. But with the other catastrophes at San Francisco and Boston the base had been postponed and construction had only begun the following year.

That’s why Huston was here, to ‘safely’ study the local hub of tunnels as well as studying the new types of tunnels being made by Scylla in the northwest region near the foothills and how that was affecting that region of the island and if the changes were spreading like a ripple effect. But there was a big storm rolling in from the constant hurricane and with Base 33 only being operational for eight months and home to only thirty agents at a time their limited team didn't have enough equipment yet to send two separate trips so they would have to go together. Thankfully it was a small group of seven and everyone could easily and safely fit into one of the newer electrical charged Osprey to deter the Psychovultures and Leafwings.

The first stop just happened to be on the way to the foothills and was a simple wrangle and check of a three Sker Buffalo and one calf. The dense wet fur of the semi-aquatic beast front legs was crushing the tracker and destroying the body data collection so new ones had to be designed. The newest ones were more robust and were going to be mounted to the back flank closer to the island camouflage of the animal so it wouldn't be in direct contact with the water and couldn't be knocked off even when ramming into each other. That didn't happen often for the docile creatures, but it was a safety precaution. It was a quick job so Huston wasn't too flustered about it – the rest of the island was a different story though. But with Sam here with the new set of trackers he designed Huston didn't need to worry about them taking long, the kid was bright and a quick worker.

Sker Buffalo had some big predators like the Sirenjaw, Death jackal packs, and of course Skullcrawlers, but besides that, they treated everything and everyone else as a passive bystander. In the months the base had been operational he had even heard that some of the researchers could get up close enough to touch the female buffalo or their young and the large bovine were completely okay with it. They would only back up when they weren't, but this was an old group, used to them by now and didn't stop their grazing when they landed or started their work. Though every so often Huston would see the six-foot-tall calf peeking out from behind his mother, extremely curiosity and shy at the same time. They had only gotten the oldest, the male, to cooperate when Huston hears trees snapping in half. Turning around at the sound of safetys being taken off, Huston sees Martinez and Griffin focusing their submachine guns at a Titan he hadn't expected to see today.

In the dense forest, Mothra sits almost hidden in the dark browns and greens with none of her colorful bioluminescence on display. She blends in like most of the other animals here and watches them closely, her layered eyes staring back in unblinking interest, poised like a viper.

He doesn't know what comes over him, must be the Monarch scientist in him, but it has him walking closer to the tree line with measured steps.

"Dr. Brooks!" His assistant, Nautica Rogers, exclaims quietly, "What are you doing?"

"Dr. Brooks I need you to stay behind me," Martinez whispers harshly as he never looks away from the female titan.

"No, I think he's fine," Sam whispers from his odd crouched position as he stares at her too, "She is supposed to be a gentle titan."

"I saw this gentle titan toss the lava pterodactyl into the ground!" Martinez hisses as he looks back to the tech director.

Sam looks back stunned and starts to stutter as he tries to figure out how to respond, "Yeah... Well... But —"

"Shh," Huston shushes them as he continues forward, "Dr. Ling told me she something like an empath. Put the weapons down or you’ll startle them all."

Houston keeps his breathing normal and his arms close to his sides, slowly raising his hands but leaving them open wide in front of his chest as he retains eye contact with her.

"We’re just checking on the buffalo. Making sure they're healthy. We’re not doing anything else.”

Huston knows she doesn’t understand him, but he hopes that the low calm voice he’s projecting will let her know they aren’t a threat to the fauna here.

Surprisingly, she begins moving out of the trees and knocking down others as she moves.

Stopping, Huston begins to back up, “Okay. Okay. Back up and remain calm.”

"You want us to be calm with her?!" Martinez stresses.

But looking back he sees everyone is backing up too. Martinez eventually puts his gun down, but Griffin holds her stern gaze with the titan for a little longer before she lowers her weapon too, but still holds it close.

He could understand their worry with everything they usually deal with attempting to kill them, but Huston has been in the game too long, especially after his first trip here. There were truly few things he was afraid of anymore.

"Trust me," He says gently and hurries his steps back a bit the more Mothra inches forward.

With each step closer and closer she begins to get nearer to the ground before she's completely lying flat on her stomach and crawling the rest of the way. She only comes up about fifteen or twenty feet or so, but doesn't get any closer, like she was respecting their space like they were wild animals. Though compared to her size Huston could see that analogy pretty well. After she stops Sam, Martinez, and Griffin do come closer with steady steps, but stop at the same distance Huston had put between him and the ancient creature. And for some reason, Huston thinks – but he’s probably just anthropomorphizing her – that Mothra gives Griffin a side-eye before ignoring her as she swings the rest of her body out with the same grace she had when he first saw her appeared two years ago now.

"Magnificent," Huston sighs, somehow she captured her powerful essence in her larva form as well.

"You know I'm surprised she's survived this long since she's so ...," And using his free hands Martinez moves them to show then compacting the air, "Squat, you know. And like a plant-eater."

That was a major surprise that they had found out in watching her was that she ate in this stage. It opens up the idea that maybe only juveniles needed to physically eat while adults just feed on radiation and sunlight. Another shock too as they assume it was only Earth-based radiation, but a solar flare last year technically sent most of the awaken titans into a food coma for three months.

"Actually she's an omnivore.”

Martinez looks behind him skeptically at Dr. Thomas Nilssen who walks over to join them. He was one of the young resident cryptozoologists who was apart of the Skull Island herbivore and behavioral study program.

“She's been seen eating some of the trees in the southern forests, which are growing back at an amazing rate. She ate about two and a half acres about two weeks ago and now there are saplings that have sprung up already at the stage of a five years old trees."

"So what did she eat that was meat?" Nautica asks walking over to Nilssen as she adjusts her cornrow braids into a ponytail.

Huston could tell the younger paleo-environmental geologist had taken a shine to the other scientist and had spent most of her time talking to him before they left from the base. He finds himself grinning fondly to himself as Skull Island brought him and Lin together too.

"It was amazing. She successfully hunted and ate a Mother Longlegs," Nilssen smiles excitedly.

"Jesus! How?" Martinez asks looking to the female lepidopteran with a bit more concern.

"Awesome," Nautica breaths as she looks to Mothra with admiration.

"The drones that follow her around," Nilssen points skyward where four sets of lights could be seen blinking above them, "show her climbing up one of the valley cliffs around the bamboo forests. She waited there to see if any of them would move for their own hunting and once she spoted one she attacked it by shooting silk. Once from over two miles away! And then she dragged the arachnid back with only her mouth and first two sets of legs. Mothra always attacks the arachnids by their annex first so they can't reach back and then adds more silk the closer she pulls them in so the poisonous legs can't get to her — Look see here."

Pulling out his phone Nilssen opens up a saved video file dated three weeks ago, showing all of them exactly what he described. The video puts his words to shame as Huston is filled with a sense of terrified awe again as he looks at these creatures.

"Wow. Respect," Martinez nods at the phone as video Mothra begins feasting on the spider and Griffin nods along with a look of approval.

And if Huston didn’t know any better, he'd say he saw Mothra flex her overlapping protective plates a little as she just happens to trill quietly at their praise for her.

**K•O•N•G**

CHHIIIRR

"Well that's why I had to change the aluminized steel over to the more flexible titanium alloy so that we didn't need to worry about the rust or the —"

"Does she understand you?" Rogers asks cutting him off.

Blinking, Sam looks to his right and finds her looking back with an amused but curious expression. Confused he jumps when a loud coo has him looking back at Mothra and her iridescent eyes.

Sam then realizes that he's been babbling out loud to her!

Blushing in embarrassment he tries to figure out why and how that could have happened, but the closest thing he can come up with is that he was talking to himself like he thought, but because he was so near to the larva when she started cooing his subconscious brain cataloged it as interest so eventually he started speaking louder so she could hear.

"I – uh don't think so." He finally answers the geology assistant, who was making a valiant effort not to laugh at him.

"She's most likely picking up on your electrical field and how happy you are talking about this," Dr. Brooks breaks in as he hands Nilssen the last tracker, "At least that’s how Dr. Ling explained her empathy and how she understands us. I'm not sure how Mothra explained that to her, but she says it's because of the link her and Dr. Chen share now."

"All of this is sounding more and more like magic every day," Martinez comments lazily, while still keeping a sharp eye on the horizon and surrounding area, "But at least it looks like you've finally found a girl to listen to you technobabble," He chuckles before he tacks on, "But watch out. I hear she's taken."

And moving his eyebrows suggestively has Rogers snickering and hiding her grin behind her hand. Unimpressed, Sam just rolls his eyes and mockingly laughs.

"Ha ha —"

_ CREEEEEE!!! _

_"—aaAHH!_ "

With that high-pitch screech everyone turns to Mothra, including the buffalo only to immediately run away as she calls out again, kicking up dirt as they stampede out of sight. Luckily, Nilssen and Brooks got out of the way in enough time. Looking back to see if he needed to run Sam finds Mothra standing up tall looking southeast while the rest of her segmented body was laid out to her left, effectively hiding them and their helicopter from view.

"Why'd she scare them off?" Rogers asks tentatively as she tries to peak around the giant caterpillar, but Mothra keeps inching to the right to stop her from seeing around her.

Like she was protecting them.

Suddenly the tablet in Sam's hand is snatched from his grip and turning he sees Brooks pulling up the seismology app he had specially designed for the seismologist and other geologists in Monarch to use. On the screen small quakes, barely registering a 1 on the Richter scale, were moving in quick succession towards their current location. Before Sam can even question Brooks on what that was he answers him.

"Skullcrawlers," He breathes with a look of pure terror, "We have to go!"

Not a second later the ground bursts like a geyser throwing dirt, grass, and rock everywhere. Screeching roars that will haunt his nightmares like Ghidorah's cackles have Sam staring in fear as he watches something he could only describe as a ghastly horror video game monster getting headbutted by Mothra before smacking another partially covered in silk with her tail, knocking the serpentine-like creature down again.

Griffin waste no time as she swings her gun over her back and grabs, almost carries, a frozen Sam back to the Osprey where everyone else already was. As it starts to hover off the ground the lieutenant bodily throws him onto the open rear ramp before she jumps up for the edge and hauls herself up with zero help. Dragging him further into the helicopter Griffin pushes him into an open seat and runs for the controls as Martinez straps him into his seat. And a good thing too as the helicopter ascends quicker than Sam knew it could getting plenty of distance between them and the Titan fighting.

**K•O•N•G**

At first, Mothra was curious and confused to why Godzilla had brought her to this island, but in seeing the abundance of vegetation and some prey she used to feed on she could see why. Also the seclusion of the island made it easier for her to reach her full strength away from most of the full grown Titans so Godzilla didn’t need to worry about her in her first stage. She wasn't weak, but she was more vulnerable in this stage and if the right opportunity showed itself she could be in danger. But being here kept her safe and allowed her King to patrol without worries. Though if she knows him well, and she does, he was probably sleeping most of his days away.

While the island was protected from anything getting onto – it was a very turbulent ride through the storm – Mothra knew she wouldn't be able to make it out unscathed if she changed into her final stage here. The predators here were much more vicious and she could sense something negative and violently envious below that made her decide to leave the next time Godzilla made landfall here. She wasn’t in need of much more food and the ever growing desire to fly and be able to sense the lands and seas fully began to gnaw at her persistently. Besides there was no place better to reform than her temple which she longed to return to.

Still the island was fascinating. It was home to its own humans, though they were completely silence, much different from the once she had encountered. They were also ones of habit and did not stray from their daily tasks, a reminder from long ago when humans couldn't be so free to do as they wish. It was something these new humans did that tickles Mothra while also inciting concern in her at their recklessness. She felt obligated, though they were not hers, to check up on them only to then wish that the new humans would cluster themselves in safe surrounded nest like their silent counterparts. Which is why she finds herself pausing in her feeding when she sees some of the newer humans close by out in the open.

They were few in numbers and gathered around a herd of large cows that looked like very small Methuselah, but were furry like Behemoth. The humans were trying to get close enough to touch them and left Mothra wondering why these curious beings would do such a thing.

Moving closer into the denser trees, loud snaps follow her as she moves closer. But not even fully approaching them two of the humans turn around with weapons up, alight with reds. She halts, moving into position to flee if needed as the four other humans turn, their lights yellow in confusion. But an older one soon turns blue as he comes closer to her. Mothra feels like she might remember his light, but can't place it though what she does care about is his serene light letting her know she is welcome. 

His call is soft and calm and when she moves forward he moves back slowly letting her come completely out of the forest and to be seen by all. The two that were colored red have mellowed to purple and while they are still on edge it was not directed at it her.

Or at least one of them was kind enough to.

Mothra makes sure to give them their space knowing how skittish they could be and they seem perfectly fine with it as the moved closer, communicating in their own language, as they look to her. Soon their lights shift in a way she couldn't understand before they're all gathered around a small object that makes the noises of a battle she had with an Ōku-no-ashi before looking up at her with twinkling orange lights in awe and respect, a color Mothra had plenty of time basking in.

It had been quite long since her last basking and she can't help the trill she makes or her plates clicking in approval.

But soon they continue to do whatever it was they were doing before she found them. It involved going up to the large cows and placing something on them that seemed to blink red every so often. One of the humans didn't go back over to help, but stayed near her and as he squeaked in his language she could see his soft pink light flicker brightly, telling her that whatever he was saying made him quite happy. Sadly, she didn't know what so she could only coo in agreement as if she did as she knew happy humans were peaceful humans.

_skrrreeek! skrrreeek! skrrreeek!_

Jolting at that noise, Mothra remains quiet and waits to see if the ground beneath her would shake again and if the same ghastly roar would sound once more. Much too soon the ground rumbles faintly and she knows they're coming.

Sounding a warning cry to the cows she uncurls herself from her comfortable sprawl and turns herself into a barrier between the coming terror and the defenseless humans. Sadly, their curiosity is a downfall as they try to look around for danger instead of immediately leaving. So she focuses on the scratching nails against the rock and sensing for the unquenchable hunger the underground creatures seem to exude only. 

Bursting from the ground like her King would rise from the sea, fuzzy black creatures arise with a horrific snarl. Mothra spits her silk at the first one bold enough to comes at her with its grisly long maw opened wide. Stunned, she quickly spits at it again sticking it to the uneven terrain as she rears back and headbutts the other rawboned creature, easily knocking it off balance. But much too soon the other creature breaks free of her silk and rears up again for the humans. Planting her middle section of legs firmly down she swing her backside swatting it in it's arms and knocking it over completely. Hearing the grating sound of one of the metal insects the humans rode in Mothra knew she could fight more freely. 

Distracted by the humans flying away Mothra bites down on the closest one’s tail and rearing up swings this one into the other and spews silk on the two fallen foes. With the metal insect growing smaller in the distance Mothra turns back to the skeletal monsters and sees them wriggling viciously to get free and with their sharp edges they're bound to break out soon. 

Looking around for a quick escape Mothra can only see the tunnel they came out of. It was not at all safe, as she did not know if more lurked down there, but she was vulnerable up here so she would have to take her chances.

Crawling to the ragged hole in the ground she only just sees the burning sick yellow eyes that has her jumping back and then immediately and violently knocked away by both creatures slamming into her, leaving her soft underside exposed!

With no time to plan an escape Mothra curls up so she can use her protective plates to shield her from all three sets of claws and teeth like a [Kobura ](https://godzilla.fandom.com/wiki/King_Cobra?file=KinguCobera.png)would when threatened as its back [scales](https://godzilla.fandom.com/wiki/King_Cobra?file=Zilla_Junior_vs_King_Cobra.png) were toughen and the spikes on its back were poisonous. But she did not have that type of protection and her plates could only do so much.

_ GRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAARRR!!!!! _

Without any delay after the fearsome roar the snapping and scratching at her plates cease. Unfurling just enough Mothra witnesses the lower jaw of a creature fall in front of her. Uncurling more she watches as the slightly bigger one goes to bite at a large black fur leg, but misses as its raised and stomped on, squishing it's head. The third one readies to jump from the side, but is slapped aside and with the force his head hits the ground and the blackness fading from it Mothra knows it is no longer among the living.

Thunderous steps shake the ground and stop by her side making her look up like she would to Godzilla. Mothra takes in the large beast, an alpha protector if she ever saw one, looking down toward her. His immense height and the sun blocking out his expression from her. Though his red light surrounding him begins to dull it still stays somewhat as he crouches down to see her better, but does not go so low as to be of equal height. He was letting her know who was the authority, who was in control of the balance of power here.

The stare is intense and calculating as he looks her over. Trying to make herself as small as possible Mothra curls up the end of her body and drops down to two of her front claws so she even closer to the ground and more respectful to this unknown alpha.

Eventually he huffs at her sternly, wondering who she was, his accent thick sounding like swaying trees in a storm.

Seeing he was open to dialogue and not wanting to anger the larger ruler of this island Mothra answers simply that she was a visitor and that she would be leaving his island soon.

He in turn raises an eyebrow ridge before glaring down at her, looming over her now, stating with gruff confidence that she was the one eating the trees and leaving them small to grow again.

Mothra chirps yes, but assures him that by the time the moon disappears from the night sky they will be back to how they were.

He can not deny she was speaking the truth and she waits to hear anything about the Ōku-no-ashi, but he says nothing more before letting out another huff asking for her human claimed name.

‘Mothra.’

Narrowing his eyes he is silence for a long moment before he answers, lightly pounding a fist to his chest, ‘Kong.’

They watch each other for a bit longer before his expression softens and the dull red changes to a navy blue.

With a soft hoot of thanks for fighting off the skullcrawlers he pats her head gently before standing to his full height and striding into the wildness of the island and disappearing among the mountains. Alone Mothra leaves the way she came to return to her cave and wait for her Paragon to come to her. Even establishing a sense of goodwill with the alpha protector here she has a feeling it was time to leave indefinitely.

**K•O•N•G**

Pausing the six minute fight and stand-off recording Huston sighs leaning back in the computer chair as Nilssen whistles, impressed. Huston had called off his study for today after the attack, but also because of how shaken Nautica was. He knows if he was younger he would have gone without her so she could recover, but she was so stubborn she would have probably try to come with him. But he saw how terrified she was, the closest Titan she had come in contact with was Scylla when studying her tunnels and how she secured the formations in Manitoba and she only saw the Titan from a mile away. While Martinez had helped him back to the Osprey it was Nilssen who pulled his assistant to her safety and she hadn't let go of him until they got back to the base.

Deciding that his time could be better used to study the preliminary findings of Titan interactions and Mega-fauna interactions in the new footage taken, especially for Drs. Ling and Chen, he asked Nilssen, when he got back from walking Nautica to her room, if he could show him the footage. It was odd being able to watch the whole exchange like it was some movie or something. It was so surreal like it hadn't happened at all and they were apart of some action survival show, except all of their job descriptions were kind of like that.

"So yeah...," Sam finally speaks up with a shaky grin like he couldn't believe he survived that, "That was.... something. Mothra is definitely stronger than we thought, but Kong... Kong is definitely – was something else."

"His fights always are." Nilssen agrees with a smile.

And Huston finds himself chuckling at that true statement, "I may hate this island, but damn if Kong hasn't made the trip worth it each time."

**Author's Note:**

> Ōku no ashi = many legs/feet = for the Mother longlegs
> 
> Also in the time I wrote this I’ve had two other ideas so the whole series will totally six stories in all ☆☆(∩╹ᗢ╹∩)☆☆ Yeah!


End file.
